Sleigh ride | The blizzard seizes me suddenly from the front

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by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Schlittenfahrt

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Der Schneewind packt mich jäh von vorn,
Mein Schlitten knirscht im schnellen Lauf,
Genüber streckt sein fahles Horn
Der wolkenblasse Eiger auf.

Ein kühler Siegesmut erfaßt
Mein Herz mit unbekannter Lust,
Als trüg ich eine werte Last
Von Stolz und Glück in meiner Brust.

Was noch von Krankheit in mir schlief,
Ich riß es es aus mit fester Hand
Und warf es lachend steil und tief
Hinunter ins verschneite Land.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, page 116.

Text Authorship:

by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Schlittenfahrt", written 1902, appears in Neue deutsche Lyriker III , in Von Wanderungen, in Hochgebirgswinter, no. 4, first published 1919 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Walther Aeschbacher (1901 - 1969), "Schlittenfahrt", published 1926 [ four-part men's chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Yrjö Henrik Kilpinen (1892 - 1959), "Schlittenfahrt", op. 99 no. 4 (1954), published 1957 [ voice and piano ], from Hochgebirgswinter, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Sleigh ride", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Voyage en traîneau", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2014-05-19
Line count: 12
Word count: 70

Sleigh ride

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

The blizzard seizes me suddenly from the front,
My sleigh scroops in its rapid passage,
Opposite, the cloud-pale Eiger
Stretches its pallid peak upward.

A calm victorious mood takes hold
Of my heart with unfamiliar joy,
As if I bore a precious burden
Of pride and happiness within my breast.

What remnant of sickness still slept within me,
I uprooted it with a firm hand
And, laughing, I threw it steeply and deeply
Down into the snowbound land.

Translator's note for stanza 1, line 3 ("Eiger"): The Eiger is a mountain in the Swiss Alps (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiger [external website])

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2014 by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Schlittenfahrt", written 1902, appears in Neue deutsche Lyriker III , in Von Wanderungen, in Hochgebirgswinter, no. 4, first published 1919
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2014-05-19
Line count: 12
Word count: 78